Masters and Money (Luke 16)
Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Saturday, April 2)
Read Luke 16
I vividly remember the time she gave me two quarters and said with intense seriousness, “Now Steven, this is a gift for you. But you know what you must do with it. Five cents of it belongs to Jesus. Do you understand me? That means this week you must put a nickel in the offering plate.” I did what she said. I’ve done it ever since.
Think about it: My first memory of having my own money is inextricably bound with the responsibility of honoring Jesus with it. I know many people struggle with giving a tenth of their income to Jesus, but it’s been such a natural part of my life that I can’t imagine keeping it all to myself. I have never believed that money belonged to me. My grandmother made sure of it.
The sixteenth chapter of Luke probably makes us squirm a bit. Why is the dishonest manager held up as an example for us to follow? What is the meaning of the story about a rich man tormented in Hades? To be sure, these are obscure parables.
In the first case, the master of the shrewd manager was likely a dishonest man himself. Jewish law forbade charging interest, so when the manager reduced the debt he may have been undoing a wrong already done to the debtor by the rich man. The rich man was outwitted by his employee; he praised him for his shrewdness, not his righteousness. Thus when Jesus said, “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,” he is telling people to use Mammon, not for selfish purposes, but in order to help those in need.
As for the second case, Jesus is not saying that ignoring the needs of the poor will send us straight to hell. However, he is saying that it is a grievous wrong to ignore the needs of the poor. The rich man had the poor directly at his feet, yet he ignored him. We may live far removed from the poor today, but we are of course without excuse: modern technology brings them directly to our doorstep. We must serve them.
Let us not get caught up intellectual questions about the obscure details of the parables, however. Let us instead wrestle with the central message of the text found in verses 10-13:
Will we be faithful with the resources entrusted to us?
Jesus said we cannot serve both God and Money. If we are serving the one, we are not serving the other. I will either force God to conform to the demands of money in my life, or I will force money to conform to the demands of God on my life.
This is why my Grandmother’s instruction was such a priceless gift to me. For before I even knew the value of money, I knew the true value of money: it belongs, first of all, to God.
“Lord, help me to be a good manager of your resources when it comes to money. Help me live generously, and serve the poor, affirming by my actions that you, not Money, are my true master.”
The second question is one of devotion (13):
Which Master will we serve? Money, or God?
Jesus said we cannot serve both God and Money. If we are serving the one, we are not serving the other. I will either force God to conform to the demands of money in my life, or I will force money to conform to the demands of God on my life.
This is why my Grandmother’s instruction was such a priceless gift to me. For before I even knew the value of money, I knew the true value of money: it belongs, first of all, to God.
“Lord, help me to be a good manager of your resources when it comes to money. Help me live generously, and serve the poor, affirming by my actions that you, not Money, are my true master.”